And so it begins. Actually, that is a bold face a lie – we are still quite a bit off from beginning of Phase III of VIB renovation, which is supposed to feature a full basement dig out. We did more or less sign off on the basement plans, and are now in the process of interviewing contractors for phase III. Once we settle on the candidate and price point, we will file permits (which require total budget number) and figure out how we will finance this massive undertaking.… Read the rest

I realize I haven’t done proper before and afters for the half bath. Partly because the space wasn’t properly finished for a long time. Partly because the powder bath is devilishly difficult to photograph. It’s tiny, and getting in there for any sort of angle shot is pretty much impossible — head on also doesn’t work very well.

On the upside of the bath being a tiny, we are really squeezing out all the mileage out of the space that we can get.The half bath is super functional, not only because of its intended purpose, but because three of the four bathroom walls hide pretty much all of the plumbing, wires, and ducts for the half bath itself, the kitchen (heating vent), the bathroom and small bedroom upstairs.… Read the rest

We are putting meetings on the calendar (with each other and architects), pens to paper, and I am pinning away like a mad woman in search of perfect design plan for our currently unfinished basement. This actually is my favorite part of the renovation, before the reality of a price tag and structural restrictions sets in. We do have a rough framework to guide us – defined by existing dimensions, a few considerations, and an overarching goal of creating more light.… Read the rest

Long time – no see! We are back from our round the world trip – actually have been for a few months now. I have missed this space, but…you know how it goes. We’ve been busy setting up house, writing about our adventures over on House to Laos – our travel blog, and I have been looking for a new job (found).

Last month we took some photos of the State of the VIB, which I am super excited to share with you.… Read the rest

Long overdue. But better late than never, right? The space is not 100% complete, but it looks fantastically close to being done. The one thing we never got to was painting the french doors. I wanted black frames. But there is so much prep work required and so much room for error I decided to put that off until we were back from our adventure. Also, now I am vacillating on whether I actually want the frame to be black — in general I like for things to be as light as airy as possible — the more light, the better.… Read the rest

Sooooo — we had have these beautiful countertops in the kitchen. Originally butcher block from Ikea, we stained them jet black with ink and then invested a lot of time getting them sealed. I had done a lot of research and apparently quite a few people out there have a luck with Waterlox, which is great to use because it is food-grade safe. But bad news for us, I probably didn’t do a great job sealing them.… Read the rest

This is it. Our last week at the VIB for a good long while – at least a year. As of August 3, 2013 we can no longer call VIB Home. We’ve leased the house! Our tenants will be moving in, and we will be turning over the keys.

To go out on a good note, I have a few fun updates on the kitchen. And one of those is not even an update, but a whole big before and after!!!… Read the rest

As exciting as our upcoming grand travel adventure is, there is a whirlwind of planning and research associated that is at least as extensive and time consuming as the deepest throes of renovation. But I kind of love it, so that’s cool! One of the big to do’s on our list: Renting the VIB – so we can take care of paying the mortgage and hopefully put away some money to take care of emergencies should those arise (knock on wood).… Read the rest

Hello there everyone. We have a very big announcement. We are off! to see the WORLD! Remember this little hint? well we couldn’t think of a better way to reward ourselves for all the hard work than with a new, grand adventure. Exciting, right?!

After going back and forth on whether we should keep the ol’ VIB site as our primary record of adventure, we ultimately decided that we would jump ship to a new home, called House to Laos.… Read the rest